[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 22 (Thursday, February 2, 2012)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 5177-5178]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-2075]
[[Page 5177]]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
22 CFR Parts 22 and 51
[Public Notice: 7779]
RIN 1400-AC58
Schedule of Fees for Consular Services, Department of State and
Overseas Embassies and Consulates
AGENCY: Bureau of Consular Affairs, State.
ACTION: Final rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This rule adopts as final the interim final rule published in
the Federal Register on June 28, 2010 (Public Notice 7068).
Specifically, the rule made changes to the Schedule of Fees for
Consular Services (Schedule) for a number of different fees. This
rulemaking adopts as final the changes to these fees.
DATES: Effective February 2, 2012.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Polly Hill, Office of the Comptroller,
Bureau of Consular Affairs, Department of State; phone: 202-663-1301,
telefax: 202-663-2526; email: fees@state.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: For the complete explanation of the
background of this rule, including the rationale for the change, the
authority of the Department of State (``Department'') to make the fee
changes in question, and an explanation of the study that produced the
fee amounts, consult the prior public notices cited in the
``Background'' section below.
Background
The Department published a proposed rule in the Federal Register,
75 FR 6321, on February 9, 2010, proposing to amend sections of 22 CFR
part 22. Specifically, the rule proposed changes to the Schedule of
Fees for Consular Services and provided 30 days for comments from the
public. In response to requests by the public for more information and
a further opportunity to submit comments, the Department subsequently
published a supplementary notice in the Federal Register, 75 FR 14111,
on March 24, 2010 (Public Notice 6928). The supplementary notice
provided a more detailed explanation of the Cost of Service Model
(``CoSM''), previously referred to as the Cost of Service Study or
``CoSS,'' which is the activity-based costing model that the Department
used to determine the proposed fees for consular services, and reopened
the comment period for an additional 15 days. During this and the
previous 30 day comment period, 1,797 comments were received, either by
email or through the submission process at www.regulations.gov.
The Department analyzed the 1,797 comments in the interim final
rule at 75 FR 36522, on June 28, 2010 (Public Notice 7068) and does not
reproduce that analysis here. Instead, the current notice addresses
only the four additional comments received in the further 60 days
during which the comment period for this interim final rule was open
(see Analysis of Comments, below). In total, the public was given 105
days to comment on this change to the Schedule of Fees and a total of
1,801 comments were received.
This rule establishes the following fees for the categories below,
as determined by the CoSM:
--Passport Book Application Services for Applicants Age 16 or Over
(including renewals): from $55 to $70
--Additional Passport Visa Pages: from $0 to $82
--Passport Book Security Surcharge (Enhanced Border Security Fee): from
$20 to $40
--File Search and Verification of U.S. Citizenship: from $60 to $150
--Application for Consular Report of Birth Abroad of a Citizen of the
United States: from $65 to $100
--Administrative Processing of Formal Renunciation of U.S. Citizenship:
from $0 to $450*
--Passport Card Application Services for Applicants Age 16 or Over
(including renewals): from $20 to $30
--Passport Card Application Services for Applicants Under Age 16: from
$10 to $15
--Making arrangements for a Deceased Non-U.S. Citizen Family Member:
from a charge of Consular time spent on the service, previously $265 an
hour plus expenses to $200 plus expenses
--Immigrant Visa Application for Immediate Relative and Family
Preference Applications: from $355 to $330
--Immigrant Visa Application for Employment-Based Applications: from
$355 to $720
--Immigrant Visa Application for Other Visa Classes: from $355 to $305
--Diversity Visa Program Fee: from $375 to $440
--Affidavit of Support Review (only when reviewed domestically): from
$70 to $88
--Determining Returning Resident Status: from $400 to $380
--Immigrant Visa Security Surcharge: from $45 to $74
--Providing Notarial Service: First service (seal): from $30 to $50
--Providing Notarial Service: Each additional seal: from $20 to $50
--Certification of a True Copy or That No Record of an Official File
Can be Located: First copy: from $30 to $50
--Certification of a True Copy or That No Record of an Official File
Can be Located: Each additional copy: from $20 to $50
--Provision of Documents, Certified Copies of Documents, and Other
Certifications by the Department of State (domestic): from $30 to $50
--Authentications (by posts abroad): from $30 to $50
--Processing Letters Rogatory and Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act 275
(FSIA) Judicial Assistance Cases: from $735 to $2,275
--Scheduling/Arranging Appointments for Depositions: from $475 to
$1,283
--Attending or Taking Depositions, or Executing Commissions to Take
Testimony: from $265 per hour plus expenses to $309 per hour plus
expenses
--Providing Seal and Certification of Depositions: from $70 to $415
--Consular Time Charges: from $265 to $231
Administrative processing of formal renunciation of U.S.
citizenship was previously a no-fee service. Under the new fee
structure, the renunciant must now pay a fee for this service. The
Department has decided that the renunciant should pay this fee at the
visit during which he or she swears the oath of renunciation. The
proposed and interim final rules referred to it as ``Documentation of
formal renunciation of U.S. citizenship,'' at Item 8 of their
respective reproductions of the Schedule of Fees. See 75 FR 36522,
36532; 75 FR 6321, 6328. This final rule makes a technical correction
to the title of the service, labeling it ``Administrative processing of
formal renunciation of U.S. citizenship.''
Please note there are two additional clarifications the Department
of State is making in this final rule. First, the Immigrant Visa
application for employment-based applications is based on I-140 and I-
526 petitions and also includes investor visas. The interim final rule
incorrectly stated that employment-based visas are based on the I-140
petition only. Second, since publishing the interim final rule on June
28, 2010 (75 FR 36522), the Department reexamined the CoSM's inputs to
the Diversity Visa Lottery Fee. Upon reexamination, it was decided that
the present fee adequately accounts for the costs of processing the
immigrant visa application and enhanced security. The Department,
therefore, has decided it will not charge the separate Immigrant Visa
Application Processing Fee or Immigrant Visa Security Surcharge to
[[Page 5178]]
Diversity Visa Lottery selectee-applicants and will amend the Schedule
of Fees to so reflect.
Analysis of Comments
In the additional 60 day period since the publication of the
interim final rule, four additional comments were received. Three
commenters expressed concern over the fee increase for extra passport
visa pages. Two of those commenters traveled frequently for work and
noted that this would be an additional cost. The third commenter, an
American citizen living overseas, expressed concern over the large cost
to his family to receive additional visa pages. A suggestion was made
by one of the commenters to waive the additional visa pages fee every
other year for business people who travel frequently.
As explained in the supplementary notice, 75 FR 14111, 14113, the
cost of this service includes not only the pages themselves, but the
employee time spent affixing the pages into a passport, endorsing the
passport, and performing a quality-control check on the expanded
passport; also the costs of trained labor, supervisors, and overhead;
of performing a name check of the applicant prior to providing the
service; and a share of the overall costs of no-fee emergency services
provided to Americans overseas--costs incorporated into and assigned
across all passport book services. The Department does offer a larger
passport for travelers who anticipate that they will need more visa
pages. Any passport applicant may request a larger book (52 pages,
instead of the standard 28 pages) at the time of application for no
additional fee. Information about this option is widely available to
customers both domestically and overseas. Because the Department's
passport processing operations must be self-sustaining as much as
possible and has accordingly set these fees at a level that will allow
cost recovery, the Department is not in a position to grant a fee
waiver to frequent business travelers.
The final comment was directed toward the fee increase for the
passport book. The commenter stated that the fee increase influenced
whether she would renew her passport book and her decision to travel
abroad. The Department is aware of the financial impact this fee
increase may have on individuals and businesses; however, the
Department must recover its costs from the passport services it
provides. The Department also maintains that the increase in passport
fees is not significant in comparison with the overall costs of
international travel.
Conclusion
The Department has adjusted the fees to ensure that sufficient
resources are available to meet the costs of providing consular
services in light of the CoSM's findings that the U.S. Government was
not fully covering its costs for providing these consular services.
Pursuant to OMB guidance, the Department endeavors to recover the cost
of providing services that benefit specific individuals, as opposed to
the general public. See OMB Circular A-25, ] 6(a)(1), (a)(2)(a). For
this reason, the Department has adjusted the Schedule.
Regulatory Findings
For a summary of the regulatory findings and analyses regarding
this rulemaking, please refer to the findings and analyses published
with the interim final rule, which can be found at 75 FR, at 36529,
which are adopted herein. The rule became effective July 13, 2010. As
noted above, the Department has considered the comments submitted in
response to the interim final rule, and does not adopt them. Thus, the
rule remains in effect without modification.
In addition, as noted in the interim final rule, this rule was
submitted to and reviewed by OMB pursuant to E.O. 12866. The Department
of State has also considered this rule in light of Executive Order
13563, dated January 18, 2011, and affirms that this regulation is
consistent with the guidance therein.
Accordingly, the Interim Rule amending 22 CFR parts 22 and 51,
which was published in the Federal Register, 75 FR 36522, on June 28,
2010 (Public Notice 7068), is adopted as final without change.
Dated: January 23, 2012.
Patrick F. Kennedy,
Under Secretary of State for Management, Department of State.
[FR Doc. 2012-2075 Filed 2-1-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710-06-P